Hi, any multiwii board can work as a servo gimball controller, i have: Multiwii and Megapirate AIO Flight Controller w/FTDI (ATmega 2560) V2.0 board…and the software works with this board?
@CARLOS S
There are no special software involved here. The MultiWii project already have options for servo controlled Gimbal. The file, however, posted here are setup for that board specifically and might not work with your board. You will need to define your board in Config.h.
Salut Eric,
I am looking to control some ESCs as servo controllers. I have a multiwii, ESC, brushless motors but I want to use encoders for position feedback instead of an IMU.
Do you know if it is possible?
I tried following this:
http://www.multiwii.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2897&start=40 but it seems no conclusion was drawn for servo control with encoder…
thanks
Hi Jonathan,
Brushless gimbal use special drivers (ESC) and motors as it require a special KV winding to be able to make the motor move that slow with torque.
Using MultiWii might not be the best way since it’s not made for that purpose. You would have to modify the code for your specific application.
You might want to take a look at this post we found online:
Hello
Trying this project for my first time every doing anything like this. New to it ALL!
I purchased this board: https://www.robotshop.com/en/mwc-multiwii-flight-controller-uav-arduino-compatible.html#Useful Links
But I am not sure what to select on the drop down for board types, the one you show does not show up on my mac version of Arduino. I chose Arduino Mini but it did not work.
Any ideas? Also how do I know which Port to choose?
@Mark Rather than troubleshooting here, we have addressed the issues on the forum post: https://www.robotshop.com/forum/how-to-use-multiwii-as-a-servo-based-gimbal-stabilizer-t12449
Hi Eric,
I’ve tried to test my 3d printed gimbal powering the board from an USB port and since them my multiwii board doesn’t work anymore. Neither the arduino IDE nor multiwii GUI is seen it anymore. Can you figured what could’ve happened ? What is your wild guess about the damage part ? The board itself or the FTDI ? The blue led are blinking wildly and at the FTDI side only the TX led blinks. Thank you and sorry my poor english.
@Junior For troubleshooting, it’s best to contact us via the RobotShop Support Center here: [email protected] if you can provide your order number and this text again it would help. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Hi ,
Apparently ,but I’m not sure, my nanowii ,seem the same of you card
I am tried, to load this gimbal configuration on my nanowii, and modified the config.h to Nanowii ,without nothing more .
The servo pitch move ,but the servo roll still fixed .
I search around the config.h where is my error without any success.
If you can help me ,many thanks
@Tourneur Maybe we could help you further on the Forum. You might want to first check the servo pin where you connected your Roll servo.
hello,how to generate 4 brushles motor by multwii using poteniometer.
@mahmoud, Using MultiWii to do such task seems to be a bit overkill. You could use the suggested board and create your own Arduino code which will send a PWM signal to all four ESC’s based on an Analog input (potentiometer). This would be better than trying to hack the MultiWii code to do it.
I’m using nano arduino howa can i get the code for it ??
@mahmoud, There are not code specificaly made for this application but it involve driving all 4 PWM output like a R/C servo and acquire an Analog value to be translated in this PWM.
Here are two useful links:
- Arduino Servo Library
- Reading a Potentiometer (analog input)
Hey there, I’ve got several servo gimbal mounted PT cameras as well as several arduino boards, micro mini mega uno as well as an 9dof board some ble boards a magnetometers and a few various HMDs , being an avid enthusiast of both RC vehicles(cars and drones mostly) and of surveillance especially remote platforms. So the afformentioned equipment, along with loads of vtx vrx monitors DVRs antenna etc was purchased with the idea of head tracked servo gimbal control but I have been unable to find any projects either closed or open source that offer such functionality. So my question is, can your code be modified to accept the positional telemetry from the magnetometers or 9dof via ble or 900/2.4/5.8ghz signal to then control the servo motors to adjust to the angle of the hmd with the magnetometer, I.e. a remote head tracking system fr servo based gimbals…
I do hope I made sense, and I also hope that you guys can help me solve my problem, I’ve had most of the equipment for over a year and if o can do something with it soon, my wife threatens to trash it all, and we’re talking 20-25,000$ easy, not to mention my own heartbreak
Thank in advance for any help
Hi AGWoo,
The code behind this blog is MultiWii which is a flight controller firmware based on Arduino controllers. There are a lot of different hacks to that code but it still remain a flight controller.
Here is a nice project about head tracker with opensource code:
DIY Headtracker (Easy build, No drift, OpenSource)
Google Code - open-headtracker
Hi loving this project but I have a question or two, can I run this on a Arduino nano or similar? Im building a gimbal to hold a 360rig about 1.2kg max I see high torque digital servos saying 3.2kg cm would this work and would the multiwii or arduino handle it? thanks ill keep you updated with progress.
@simon derwent
The MultiWii project used here can be loaded on most Arduino compatible boards. The Nano is pretty much a ProMini with USB support and yes it will work but you will have to add the sensor as well as populate all the pins needed. It’s often easier to get the MWC board. What will limit you is the choice of servos actuator and mechanical assembly otherwise the controller will be able to send PWM signals to anything.
Here is an old video (sorry for that) that use the MultiWii project on a custom Gimbal for DSLR application:
DiaLFonZo-Copter - DSLR Gimbal - GoPro Miror - 21-11-2012
Thanks Eric yes i was adding a 10dof or similar I have already built a tiny version for a parrot ar drone using a custom script but now Im making a stand alone gimbal for various applications just no rc control just keep things horizontal. The servos ill be using are high torque to pull upto 2 kg + of weight. I will probably just buy a multiwii specific board with sensors. thanks. Im going to power the servos separate and just send signal from board. Do you know if I need to use digital or analogue servos or does it matter?
@simon derwent
The easier would be to use any compatible Gyro + Accelerometer since that’s what you need. We would recommend a MPU6050 since it has both integrated in one chip so it lowers the cost. As for the servos, it’s important to understand that the part between the Microcontroller and the Servo will always be PWM signals for both Analog and Digital. The internal process of the signal will be different and usually you get more torque / speed / accuracy out of a digital model. It’s also nice to get one that can be reprogramed to gain extra travel and/or speed changes.